Improvement in shirts



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Letters Patent No. 111,690, dated February 7, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHI'RTS- The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making `part of the same.

To all 'whom 1t/may concern:

Beit known that I SOLOMON SIBLEY, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Shirts, of

which the followingqis a full, clear, and exact descrip- A tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawing` making part of this specification, in which- 4Figure l represents the front part of a shirtcut in accordance with my invention, and ready to have the'bosom applied thereto.

Figure 2 represents the front of a shirt with the bosom applied thereto iu accordance with my iuvenf secured by seamsat the sides and bottom.

The bosom of a shirt made in this way is, however, liable to crack and split lengthwise where the plaits meet.

My invention has for its object to overcome this dilicnlty, and consists in dividing the front of the shirt at the center, and stitching the bosom to that portion which has heretofore been removed, the' bosom being merely folded and not stitched until. placed in the position' which it is to occupy, so that the stitching which holds the plaits together also serves to secnrethe bosom to the front ofthe shirt, by'

which construction the durability Ot theA bosom -is greatly' increased, as the cotton backing, which has heretofore'been removed, serves to stiffen the whole bosom and strengthen the weaker portions thereof, causing it'to sit smoothly, and giving vau additional thickness to t-he center plait vand that immediately beneath' it, in which firmer and stronger button-holes can be made than where they are composed only of two thicknesses, as isthe case in an ordinary bosom.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed .to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In the said drawing- A represents the front of a shirt, whichis divided at the center on the line a a, the length of this line being equal to that of the bosom B.

The bosom is then folded and secured to the portions b c of 'the shirt-front in the following manper. i

lhe portion d of the bosom is first laid over the port-ion 71 ofthe shirt-front, and the edge of the portion b inserted between the folds of the plait (i, as seenin tig. 3.

A row of stitching, c, is then made, .which secures theplait (5 to the edge of the portion b, after which another row of stitching, j, is made, then' a row of stitching, g, which holdsdown theplait 7, and finally another row, h, to hold down theplait 8.

The other half, i, ot' the bosom is then laid over the portion o of the shirt-front and secured thereto in thesame manner as the portion d, after which the whole bosom is secured a-t the bottom by one or more rows of stitching It.

The portions l1 c of the shirtsfront which have heretofore been removed, as `seen at X, i-g. 4, thus form 'a part of the bosom itself, serving as a'support or backing which stiens the whole bosom, and strengthens the weaker portions thereof, while, as the bosom is merely folded, and is not stitched until it is placed in the position which it is to occupy, the same stitching which holds the plaits together, also serves to secure the bosom to the shirt-front without additional labor. l

Furthermore, the rows of stitching by which the bosom and" shirt -front are secured together are s o near the points where the plaits meet, that the close union of the bosom and backing at these points imparts additional strength at the very part-'s where the bosom has heretofore been liable to crack or split.

By my improvement the durabilityof a shirt-bo# som is greatlyincreased, whileit will sit more smoothly than an ordinary bosom, andan additional thickness is given to the center plait 6 and the plait 9 immediately beneath it, so that firmer and stronger buttonhole's can be made than heretofore.'

Shirt-besoins applied in accordance with my invention may be-of the thinnest linen, and yet appear heavier, and be more durable than those composed of heavy and. expensive linen,o and inserted in the usual manner without being combined or incorporated with the body of the shirt.

At the bottom ot' the central division a "a is a horizontal slit O1' division, on, which allows the center plait 6 to overlap the plait 9, and assume its proper position when the shirt is finished, and also gives the required' fullness to the front ofthe shirt.

Tere-it not for. this Ahorizontal slit m it would be necessaryto make cach of the plaits 6 and 9 project beyond the central divisiou'line a a a distance equal to half the width of a plait, in-which case the cotton backing would only extend half-way across each of the plaits (i and 9, which would be undesirable, as these. plaits would not then be sufficiently stiff, and would be less durable than the others.

'I am aware that :t shirt-bosom, after having been A shirt, with its bosom and front constructed in inserted in the usual manner, has been lined 4by covthe manner shown and described. ering the buekwithl cotton, but this requires :t con- NVitness my hand this 2d day of November, A. D.l sidemble amount of additional labor, and often causes 1870. the bosom to wrinkle, while the cotton' biwliczinnot SOLOMON SIBLEY. be made-to serve usan interlining to the center plait. I therefore my no claim to such method; but l NVitnes'ses: Y lv What I do claim as my invention, and desire to se- P. E. TESGHEMACHER, eure by Letters Patent, :is a. new article of mannfao- YV. J CAMBRIDGE. ture, is 

